Point Blank
by frosty wonder ice
Summary: YamasukeDaito. Some adult themes nothing too serious.... Character death s.
1. Bad Day?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything related to Digimon.

**Warning**: This is going to be a **Yamasuke** and it involves some not-so-nice material. The rating is more for later chapters than it is for this first one.

*  *  *

Ishida Yamato sat on the swing set in the park, watching the little children run around with their happy smiles and naïve ways. They laughed when they escaped the loving grips of their parents and cried when they fell to the ground. Most of their faces were rosy red from the cold that stung the air, but their eyes sparkled almost like glitter with a radiance that Yamato had not felt in years. A few of the children glanced in his direction, but only once – as if looking twice would burn their eyes from their faces. Loneliness was something Yamato had become accustomed to long before his arrival at the park, but something about the carefree look in a child's eye had always twisted his heart.

"Bitter day, no?"

Frowning and giving a sideways glance at this new arrival, Yamato said, "Only to some. I find this day rather relaxing."

"Is that why you appear so sour?" the man asked, sitting down in the swing next to the blonde. He handed a vanilla portfolio over, leaving the topic of Yamato's dreary look to hang in the air. He knew better than to push into someone's personal thoughts. Instead, as Yamato opened the portfolio, he brought up a new discussion. "Dante-Shi is paying us a great amount of money for this hit. I chose you because I know you can get the job done and you can do it well. This guy," the man pointed to the picture that Yamato had stopped on, "must be a deadly threat to Shi. I never knew the old coot to be so intent on getting rid of someone."

As soon as Yamato had come across the picture of his latest target he'd froze. Normally he'd just flip through the papers in the portfolios, briefly glancing over everything, but this was something else. This was _someone_ else. _Someone_ he knew. The man in the picture's eyes stared at him, almost accusingly, making him shiver. Apparently his comrade noticed his hesitation on the picture, knowing Yamato to be the type to not go over his job deeply until he was in the privacy of his own home, and leaned over to look at the picture more. When he couldn't see any reason for the blonde's pause, he began to wonder.

"I know him," Yamato said as the guy opened his mouth to ask. Blue eyes scanned the picture a bit more before lifting. "I grew up with this guy. He saved my life many times. I can't take this job, Aki."

Yamato thrust the portfolio back into Keshena Akihiko's hands. Akihiko looked at him, then at the portfolio, and back at him. "You have to take this. I already promised Shi the best of best, which is what you are. I don't care if you knew this guy, Ishida. You of all people know this is _not_ based on personal issues. You're not the one who wants him dead; you're just the one doing the deed."

"Get someone else," Yamato growled, standing up to leave.

"Listen to me." Akihiko stood up as well and shoved the portfolio into Yamato's chest, knocking him back into the swing. He grabbed the chains and leaned towards the glowering blonde, using just as much venom to glower back. "You **are** going to take this job and you **are** going to do it well. Don't try to argue with me, Ishida. You knew once you got in this job that there would come a time when you'd have to knock off someone close. If he," Akihiko poked the portfolio for emphasis, "is not dead by the time limit, then he _and_ you shall be dealt with, and trust me Ishida, you don't want to be at the other end of my pistol."

Akihiko stood up, straightened out his suit, and stalked off, leaving Yamato to hang his head, defeated. Yamato knew Akihiko wasn't lying about not wanting to be at the other end. For someone who'd retired from the job four years before, he still knew all too well how to use a firearm. Though Yamato would never admit it openly to just anyone, he was afraid of Keshena Akihiko.

Yamato played with the string that held the portfolio closed ominously. _I know him…_ The thought wouldn't go away; it couldn't. You can't murder someone who saved your life numerous times. Sure they had never been the best of friends, but they had been friends nonetheless. They fought side by side in the digital world for goodness sake! This job was going to be the hardest he'd ever had and retirement sounded like a good idea once it was finished, if it was ever finished without him dying too in the end.

"Yamato? Ishida Yamato?"

_Why does someone always have to do that when I'm trying to think? My singing days are over!_ Yamato glance up anyway, meeting a pair of familiar chocolate eyes. He stared at the young man standing over him with a raised eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

The man laughed. "Of course you do. Motomiya Daisuke ring a bell?"

Recognition on Yamato's behalf was instant. "Oh my… How've you been? Where've you been?"

"Ah… fine, here and there… places," Daisuke said softly.

"Here and there? Places?" Yamato frowned. "Daisuke, you disappeared right after high school. No one has seen hide nor hair of you since graduation day, or so my brother tells me."

"Oh, Takeru. How's he doing? He and Hikari ever get together?" Daisuke asked.

Yamato stared hard at him. "You're changing the subject."

"Am I? I didn't notice," Daisuke replied, in all seriousness. His smile faltered for a second, but then it was back to being bright and he sat down in the swing that Akihiko had occupied only moments before, rocking back and forth. "I told you. I've been here and there. Around. Places. Nothing more, nothing less."

"What do you do? Work wise, I mean." Yamato decided not to press into the mysterious life of Motomiya Daisuke. He knew he wouldn't want the redhead to press into his. What a shock Daisuke would find if he did.

"I work in… well, it's hard to explain, but it's a good business." Daisuke leaned back in the swing and began to push off. When he got moving pretty well he shot another smile in Yamato's direction. "It's been a while since I did this last, but anyway… what have you been doing?"

Ever since Yamato entered the certain business he did, he faced the problem of people asking him about his work. At first this had made him nervous and he got a little fidgety, but after years of doing what he did, a response had come to his mind and he got used to the lie so much, that it flowed nicely out. "I am a financial consultant." Now, how he had come up with this, he could not remember. All he knew was no one was interested enough in that particular line of work to dig any further.

"Oh," Daisuke stopped himself in the swing and turned to Yamato with a frown. "I always thought you'd go into something a little more exciting. Speaking of which, what happened to your rock star lifestyle?"

"It got old," Yamato said dryly. He didn't want to mention that the death of one of his previous band members had been his first job. That wouldn't smooth over well with someone he hadn't seen or heard of in years.

"What do you have there?" Daisuke asked, pointing to the portfolio in Yamato's lap.

The reminder of his latest job made Yamato bristle. He glanced down at the portfolio disgusted, but tried to hide this from Daisuke. "Just some papers from work that I'm supposed to finish tonight."

"I see," Daisuke said. "How boring."

Yamato's frown deepened. "Yeah, boring."

"So," Daisuke tried to lighten the conversation. "You never answered me about Takeru. He and Hikari have hooked up by now, haven't they? I can't imagine seeing them with anyone else. They've got that light and hope connection."

"Yeah, they got together. Perfectly happy married couple with two kids," Yamato laughed, relaxing at the new subject. He looked at Daisuke and shook his head with a tender smile, the initial shock of how long it'd been since he'd seen Daisuke starting to come back. "Wow, Daisuke, you really have been gone for a while, you know that? Your family went crazy when you disappeared; everyone thought you were dead. I know you and I were never much of friends, but it's nice to see you again."

"Never much of friends?" Daisuke snorted. "And here I was thinking you and I had some sort of connection since we were both the keepers of friendship – ironically enough. You mean to tell me that I was _always_ a hassle? Oh, gee, thanks."

"Now I didn't say that," Yamato objected with a hearty laugh. "You amused me a lot when we were young. At first I thought I was going to kill you before you could save the digital world, but somehow you started growing on me. I don't think I've ever met anyone with the same mischief twinkle in his eyes. I always knew you were up to something, especially when you were trying to be serious."

"And I always will be up to something," Daisuke joked. He sighed and looked at his watch, frowning a bit. He got out of the swing and stretched. "Well, Yamato, it's been great seeing you again, but I must be off. My boss will be perturbed if I show up late. I hope you have a splendid afternoon. Maybe we should meet up for lunch tomorrow and catch up some more?"

"That would be… nice," Yamato said and the two finished making plans before Daisuke left.

There were so many things about Daisuke that were all too familiar. The way he walked, talked, laughed, smiled, and generally just moved. It was like he had been preserved for the past ten years, only to return as the same person. Yet there were also the things about him that were unfamiliar, like the knowing look in his eye that matched the mischievous one and his voice was a bit deeper. But those were the only two things that Yamato could tell had changed about him physically. He still had that silly, childish – but adorable – smile, but there was something different about it now, something that made Yamato wonder.

*  *  *

At first Yamato had been happy to see his long-lost friend. Daisuke had even taken his mind away from his latest employment. However, that initial, startled shock at having not seeing someone in ten years wore away over night and was replaced by something that sort of resembled anger. So when Daisuke showed up at the little café that he'd agreed to meet Yamato at, the first thing out of the blonde's mouth was, "TEN YEARS!"

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked and slowly slid into the small booth.

"Ten years! You've been gone for ten years!" Yamato snapped. He sighed at the blank expression Daisuke had and leaned back against the back of the booth. "Where have you been? What's wrong with you? Is this some demented little ploy of yours? Do you have any idea how much pain and sorrow your family went through because of you? Daisuke, we had a funeral for you! You are dead! You don't exist anymore!"

Daisuke looked out the large window at the people walking along the sidewalk expressionless. "So… tell me more about Takeru and the others. How have they been holding up these past ten years?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Yamato exclaimed. He quickly toned down with some other people in the café looked at him in surprise. His voice dropped softly, with a tinge of whisper in it. "You can't just show up and not expect me to be surprised and – at the least – angry, Daisuke. You can't. That's not fair to me, or anyone else for that matter. You disappeared for ten years and suddenly reappeared yesterday, as if it were a magical act. And look at you. You don't seem to have changed a bit!"

"Yamato, please, let's not talk about this. I did what I had to do for a reason," Daisuke murmured. He finally turned back to Yamato with a sad, mournful look. "Do you not think I know what kind of affect my disappearance had? Do you think I am clueless? Because I know exactly what I did, and I knew exactly what I was doing. Now I'm asking you to accept that and leave it be."

A waitress walked up before Yamato could reply. His eyes were locked with Daisuke's and he ordered a coffee without ever breaking the contact. It was Daisuke who looked away to the waitress, smiling falsely, and asked for water and a bagel. He winked at the waitress, making her giggle. She walked away – swinging her hips and smiling over her shoulder at Daisuke – and left the two of them to sit in silence. Yamato rolled Daisuke's words over in his head a few times, and finally decided that it really wasn't any of his business.

"Takeru is doing great," Yamato started. He caught the flash of relief that went across Daisuke's face and smiled. "He became an author, and talked about our adventures in the digital world. Of course, everyone considers it to be fictional, but we digidestined know the truth, right?"

"We certainly do," Daisuke laughed. "Do you ever think that there are a new digidestined fighting in the digital world right now?"

"All the time. In fact, I'm almost positive that if we went to the computer lab, we'd see them being sucked into the computer," Yamato joked. Daisuke nodded with a smile and opened his mouth to reply, but the waitress returned with their orders.

"A coffee for you," she said coldly and set the mug down in front of Yamato before turning to Daisuke with a warm smile. "And the usual for you."

"Thank you, my dear," Daisuke said kindly. This time it was her who winked at him and she made a kiss at him as she turned to walk off. Daisuke smiled back at her and sipped at his water, keeping a watch on her as she went to another booth.

"Girlfriend, Daisuke?" Yamato asked.

Daisuke snapped back to Yamato with wide eyes. "No. Never. I don't do the whole relationship thing."

"You just flirt and lead the girls on?" Yamato retorted with a sour expression.

"It's not like that," Daisuke said softly. "We're friends, her and I. I eat here almost everyday. She and I like to joke around. It's like-"

"YOU?"

Daisuke and Yamato both glanced up startled at the person who'd interrupted the conversation. A scraggly looking old man stood by their booth, having to grip the table to keep from falling to the floor from sheer drunkenness. He was looking at Daisuke with a surprised but smiling visage. Daisuke smiled uneasily back, glancing at Yamato with a look that explained he had now clue who this old man was.

"I knew 'twas you!" the old man hiccupped. "I neva forget a face!"

"Is that so?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah!" The old guy stumbled a little as he tried to stand up straight. "Let me tell ya, ya did wondafully at that place."

Daisuke looked at Yamato amusedly out of the corner of his eye. "At that place, yeah…"

"Jenn, I think you are disturbing the customers." The waitress appeared behind the man and began pulling him reluctantly away. She smiled apologetically at Daisuke. "Sorry, he acts like this when he's drunk."

"No problem. It was rather amusing actually," Yamato said. The waitress glanced at him briefly before walking off. Yamato frowned and shifted his gaze back to the redhead sitting across from him. "She doesn't like me very much."

"She's like that. It took me forever to befriend her," Daisuke said, waving it off. "Pay no attention to it. I'm sure she'll like you eventually. Just give it time."

"What makes you think I'm coming back here again?" Yamato asked.

"Well," Daisuke leaned back against the soft cushion of the booth, "we have a lot to catch up on, and one day isn't nearly long enough…"

Yamato smiled. "Yes, I guess you are right."

*  *  *

"It's cold out here!"

Yamato looked at Daisuke with a bit of surprise. The younger man's face was pale and he was shaking. "Are you sick, Dai?"

"No, just cold!" Daisuke chattered. "Let's get going! It's freezing!"

Despite his companion's claims, Yamato didn't feel cold hardly at all. Yes it was windy and a tad bitter, but not cold enough to really bother you unless you were butt naked. Daisuke was wearing a long, black trench coat and yet he was still shaking. Yamato eyed him a bit cautiously as they walked on towards the apartment complex in silence, though it was not an uncomfortable silence.

They'd met up for lunch everyday that week, but today Daisuke had suggested Yamato come over to his place, saying he got off work at lunch time so he had the rest of the day to relax, and really wanted to do that at home – if it wasn't a problem for Yamato, that is. Of course there was no reason Yamato could think of not going over to Daisuke's. Truth be told, he was really quite interested in what his long lost friend's apartment looked like.

"We're here," Daisuke said as they reached the door. He pulled out some keys and hurriedly unlocked it, very happy to reach the warmth of the indoors. He left the door open for Yamato to step through and kicked off his shoes. Yamato closed the door and followed suit. Daisuke gestured for him to sit on one of the couches. "I'll be back in a quick. Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to get into something warmer."

"Honestly, I don't know how you're cold!" Yamato shouted as he closed the bedroom door. There was a half-laugh, half-snort from behind the door. Sighing, Yamato made his way to the couch and flopped down on it, closing his eyes. Daisuke's apartment strangely smelt like crayons.

"Okay…"

Yamato cracked an eye open to stare at the younger man standing over him. "Better?"

"Much," Daisuke grinned. "It's really getting cold out there. I'm going to have to start riding the bus or train to work."

"I think you need to see a doctor. It wasn't that cold," Yamato said. He straightened so that Daisuke could sit down. "So what do you want to discuss today? We've already gone over Takeru, Hikari, Taichi, why neither of us got married, political junk, and just about everything except each other…"

A frown crossed Daisuke's face. "I don't think I want to explain some things to you, and I'm sure there's something you don't want to tell me, so let's never discuss each other. How's that?" He waited until Yamato reluctantly nodded before continuing. "I was wondering if you'd like to hit the slab tonight with me. It's not often I get Fridays off, and when I get the chance, I like to get out and live. You in?"

"Sure, as long as you have decent places picked out. I'm not going to some ramshackle bar," Yamato laughed, subconsciously brushing hair from his face. Unlike Taichi, he'd decided he liked his hair the way it was and kept it at that perfect length where it fell into his eyes, but didn't get in the way.

"Of course not. You should have learned this week I have good taste," Daisuke joked.

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so what you're saying is that lasagna was good taste?"

"One mistake! ONE! Give me a break," Daisuke pouted. "It's usually really delicious."

A feeling stirred inside of Yamato. It'd been a while since he'd had someone to joke with. He hadn't seen Taichi in forever and Akihiko's jokes were usually dark and death-oriented. Being around Daisuke made him feel warm, as luck would have it. It was nice to have a friend again. He'd seen Daisuke more in the past week than he had his own brother in the past six months. The irony of this didn't escape him at all. He almost wanted to wrap his arms around himself in a tight hug and breath in the greatness of friendship. However, he was not four.

"What time do you have in mind for all this?" Yamato asked. "The truth is, I really need to be cracking down on… my job… and, um, well, this week has kind of distracted me."

The perky chocolate eyes dimmed. "Oh… I'm sorry. You don't have to. I mean, I wont bother you if… I know you have your own life and all… it's just… I…"

"No! Not at all!" Yamato interrupted. "I'm enjoying your presence. I miss having someone around to make snide comments and laugh with me, and it's just great to see you, Dai. I mean… this week has been… well, I don't know how to explain it. It almost seems like you were never gone. I feel as if I've skipped ten years simply to meet up with you again. It's like everything came to a crashing halt when you reappeared."

"Thanks Yamato," Daisuke whispered. He smiled softly, eyes full of emotion again. "That really means a lot to me."

Yamato smiled back. "I'm glad. You've come to mean a lot to me."

*  *  *

"It's great seeing you and all, I mean it's been so long, but seriously Yamato, what's the deal? I have better things I could be doing, and so does Ken! He's supposed to be cracking down on a real important case right now. I don't have time for silly surprises. I could be making more money at this very moment, but instead I'm wasting my time waiting in your apartment for some surprise to show up. You'd better have a damn miracle for us."

Miyako stared at him hard, frowning and looking very irritated. Ken was sitting beside her with a frown, also, but not nearly as mean. His eyes were scanning Yamato intently, making the blonde fidget. He hated being near Ken. They were enemies if you broke things down: detective and hit man. There were others in the room: Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru, who were waiting patiently and rolling their eyes as Miyako continued her griping.

"I think this will be worth your while," Yamato said calmly, controlling his annoyance. He never could adapt himself to Miyako. She just rubbed his hair the wrong way, so to speak. He glanced at his watch. "It should be here any minute now."

"I'm very curious to see what it is he's got planned for us," Hikari said kindly and smiled brightly. "It's great to see you again, Yamato."

"Yeah, where have you been?" Takeru asked.

Before Yamato could answer, the front door of his apartment opened and banged closed. Daisuke's voice rang through the air.

"Hey, Yama, you wont believe what happened to me today!" There was a thump noise as Daisuke kicked off his shoes and a shuffling as he walked to the doorway where everyone was. "This guy walked up to…"

His voice died as soon as he saw that he and Yamato weren't the only ones in the apartment and his face turned to a look of horror. Everyone gasped – except Yamato – and Daisuke fell back against the wall, flattening himself as if trying to hide from the eyes of his ex-friends. Miyako's mouth dropped opened and all she could manage were a few stumbles of words. Takeru was blinking slowly in attempt to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Taichi gawked, and Hikari jumped to her feet – getting over the initial shock – and moved towards Daisuke.

"Oh my… Daisuke!" she cried and went to hug him, but he dodged and backed into the hallway towards the front door. Hikari looked confused, and by this time everyone else was on his or her feet and standing behind her.

Daisuke's horrified expression changed to shock, then disgust, and then pure rage. He narrowed his eyes viciously on Yamato, who was starting to move to him. "You son of a bitch… You had no right, you bastard! I trusted you!"

Yamato stopped at his words and his eyes widened in shock. "But, Dai-"

"Fuck off asshole!" Daisuke bellowed. With that he spun on his heel, pausing only to grab his shoes, and stormed from the apartment in his mere socks – slamming the door hard behind him.

Yamato ran after him, but he'd already disappeared down the corridor by the time the blonde made it out the door. He sighed and walked back inside. The others were still standing in the living room doorway and he just glared at them, leaning back against the door. "_That_ didn't go well."

"Apparently," Miyako snorted. She headed back to the couch, followed by the others except for Ken. "Can you believe it? That was Daisuke! I thought he was dead – well… he might as well be. Honestly, did you hear what he said? I never knew Daisuke to have such a dirty mouth."

As the others started gossiping, Ken moved towards Yamato cautiously. Yamato was staring at nothing in particular now, hanging his head slightly and frowning in contemplation. Ken grabbed a pen from the hall table and pulled an old envelope from his back pocket. He scribbled an address on it and folded it up. Glancing over it quickly, he handed it to Yamato.

"Here – he's gone to this place, I bet. That is, if he hasn't changed in the past seven years," Ken said. Yamato glanced at him oddly before hesitantly reaching out and taking the paper from Ken's hands. Ken frowned. "You might want to go quickly. I can get the others out of here, if you'd like."

"How do you know where he would be?" Yamato inquired.

Ken didn't answer for a while, just stared at him, but when he did, he looked away, as if hurt. "If Daisuke wishes you to know, then he can tell you. Otherwise… You need to get going."

As much as he wanted to question some more about Ken's knowledge of Daisuke's whereabouts, Yamato knew it was pointless. Ken was a detective; he took a little work to crack information out of. He was lucky that the raven-haired man had taken it upon himself to do what he did.

Grabbing his coat and slipping into his shoes, Yamato glanced first at the paper, then at Ken, and then headed out of the apartment, shouting over his shoulder, "Get the rest of them out of my apartment."

*  *  *

The address Ken gave him was on the far side of town. He was frustrated that Daisuke could pick a place so far away, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, though, more worried about simply finding Daisuke, and apologizing – though he didn't know why he had to. The idea of reuniting Daisuke with the digidestined had come to him a couple weeks earlier when he felt the need to call his brother and catch up.

It had been nearly a month since Daisuke's smile was reintroduced to him. They had grown to be close friends, despite that they'd avoided the subject of each other. The creepy thing about it to Yamato, though, was that he was starting to notice little things about Daisuke in silly detail, such as how 'wonderfully deep' his 'chocolate' eyes were, or how 'musical' his laugh sounded.

Yamato knew he was gay; he'd known ever since high school. His first crush was Taichi, but that was over quickly. He lusted after Jyou for a while, but then when he moved on to college that fling had dimmed. He'd even had a crush on Akihiko once, but _that_ was over **very** quickly when Akihiko held a gun to his head and told him to **never** _think_ about him like that ever again. So it was no shock when he started noticing personal things about Daisuke.

"Here I am."

The place before Yamato was mostly dark with one neon sign that read, "Streamer's Blow 'n Glow". That struck Yamato as odd. The address Ken had given him was in one of the not-so-nice parts of town. This was the part of town that made him look over his shoulder every five minutes, which he normally did anyway since he was a professional assassin and had to constantly make sure _he_ wasn't the target for once, but it seemed more reasonable to do that being where he was now.

"Well, better go inside…" Yamato whispered to himself, and with one last glance over his shoulder, he walked to the brown door.

There was a small hallway that was before him. He could hear music on the other side of the door, unnerving him a bit. As soon as he stepped inside he was hit with hot, humid air and colored strobe lights, and the music was horrendously loud. The first thing he saw was a stage and he instantly knew what the place was. He was a little startled, but if Daisuke went to a strip club when he was angry, then so be it. Men do that all the time, after all.

Before he could go any further, a large buff man stopped him. "ID!" the man yelled over the music.

Yamato rolled his eyes and dug in his pocket for his wallet. When the man decided he looked like the same person as in the picture, he smiled a toothy grin and stepped aside. Yamato stalked past and started looking around for Daisuke. There were only a few men and women sitting around the side of the stage and at some tables. Yamato frowned. He couldn't see Daisuke…

Upon turning his eyes towards the stage, he froze.

There was Daisuke, dressed in nothing but tight, black leather shorts, shirt cuffs, and a black bow tie. Yamato's eyes widened and he stared. Daisuke was dancing very erotically, but considering the place they were in… Yamato felt himself getting lightheaded from the revelation. He weakly fell into the nearest chair, never tearing his eyes from Daisuke. If he'd been astounded when Daisuke met him on the playground, he was doubly so now.

That was when Daisuke looked up, his cold brown eyes meeting Yamato's. He paused for a moment, but continued with what he'd been doing. He glowered dangerously at the blonde. As the song ended, he stepped to he edge of the stage and leapt off, getting a few howls from some people sitting there – one whom Yamato recognized as the old man from the café. He slipped through the chairs and tables with ease until he made it to where Yamato was sitting.

"What are you doing here?" He yelled, though it sounded subdued – being drowned by the new song starting up – so that it was almost threatening.

If Daisuke expected Yamato to be able to talk with him standing there in nothing but those tight leather shorts, then he was greatly mistaken. Yamato just blinked, infuriating Daisuke. He grabbed one of Yamato's pale wrists and pulled him from the seat. He dragged the blonde to a door that lead to the rooms behind the stage. They walked past a few curtains until they came to another door that had "Employees Only" written across its front.

The room was what was considered to be the dressing room of Streamer's, or so Yamato guessed. There were personal make-up areas with mirrors, and a long rack with all sorts of clothes on it, although each outfit looked as if only a yard of fabric had been used in making it. A woman walked past, giving a greeting to Daisuke, and looking curiously at Yamato. Daisuke muttered something in reply and continued to drag Yamato to the far side of the room. He pushed the blonde into a chair in front of one of the mirrors and opened one of the drawers on the dressing table. He pulled out a pair of plaid flannel pajama pants and began to slip into them.

"Okay," he snapped, folding his arms across his bare chest. "Spill. How'd you know to get here?"

"Ken gave me the address," Yamato said quietly. "You're a stripper?"

"No. I'm an exotic dancer. There's a difference." Daisuke unfolded his arms and paced back and forth in front of Yamato. He finally stopped, leaning on the dressing table and staring at himself in the mirror. "I should have known Ken would lead you here, that asshole. I'm going to kill him."

Yamato frowned. "Ken… he mentioned… seven years… but you've been gone for ten. I don't understand."

Daisuke eyes flickered towards him in the mirror. "Because I knew him seven years ago." He sighed and looked down again, idly picking at a piece of loose wood on the table. "Who do you think told him to be a detective? When he found me three years after I disappeared, I told him he needed to see about getting a job under that line of work."

"But I don't understand!" Yamato said sounding strained. "And the only way you can make me understand is if you tell me why you left, why you never contacted any of us, and how you ended up working here."

With a sigh, Daisuke turned around and sat on the table. He swung his feet back and forth like a young child, his anger slowly diminishing into sadness. "I wont explain those things to you. Don't ask me to. But I can tell you this: A month ago, when I saw you sitting on the swing, I nearly turned and walked away, but there was something about your face. You looked so miserable, so absolutely depressed… you didn't look like Yamato. So I said hey and we talked. That… what was it? Twenty minutes? I don't know, but that was refreshing for me. It was great to see you again, it really was. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed my friends from my childhood. Yet I knew I couldn't see you again. I knew it'd end up costly, but I had to tell you something so you wouldn't follow me; that's how I came up with the lunch thing. I wasn't actually going to meet you there. I don't know how I ended up walking to that café, but I did, and before I knew it a month flew by. Then came tonight. You said you had a surprise, and I was really quite interested. You don't know how it felt for me to have a real friend again. I mean, sure Jeanne and Itarou are good friends, but it's just no the same. Then I saw the others and they saw me and they found out I wasn't dead. They know now; they know. And I hate that they know. After ten hard years of avoiding every last one of you, and it was all ruined tonight because of you. That's why I'm pissed Yamato."

Yamato swallowed uneasily. That explained a few things to him, but not everything. "What about Ken? He met you seven years ago, so what happened there?"

Daisuke's eyes went cold. "I hate Ken and that's all you really need to know. He ruined my life and I hate him for it."

"Daisuke! Quit chatting with your friend and get a move on!" a woman yelled, leaning around the side of the dressing table. "You've got five minutes to change and then you're up."

"Well," he said, standing up with a stretch. "I've got to work now. You can stay however long you want to, but don't expect to be talking to me again. And _definitely_ don't expect to ever see me again after tonight. The exit is over there, or you can go back into the club."

At that, Daisuke grabbed an outfit off one of the racks and walked off, leaving Yamato to think over what he said.

*  *  *

I know this was sort of a short beginning, but the next parts will hopefully be a bit longer… This isn't one of my main-priority fics right now so it might be a while before the next chapter comes out. If you actually like this fic – I really hope someone does – and want to know when the next chapter is uploaded I can email you, so just leave your email address in a review, or email me and ask me to. Anyway, review!


	2. Lost

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon.

Yah! Another chapter! I really like this fic, and I don't know why! Is it because Daisuke is an exotic dancer and Yamato a hit man? I don't know! I just really like it! The plot only thickens in this chapter! Muawahahahahaha!

Anyway, I have a few more page space, so why not take it up to say this:

To **darke wulf**: Thank you very, very, very, very much.

To **Sapphire Goddess**: Just in case you are reading this, I wanted to mention something about a review you gave me for another fic (_Love Me Always_). No, it's not that all I care about is reviews – and Jamalyn you can keep your mouth shut because that's not true! It's just that… well, someone else said this, and I don't remember who it was, but: Writing for yourself and not others is only fun for so long. When nobody reviews, you start to feel pretty crappy as an author. However, those that reviewed for _Love Me Always_ really made me feel a tiny bit better and I'm back to that 'writing for me and not others' stage. Just thought I'd tell you, so you don't think I'm some review-grieving predator. Also, about why the fan killed him… Well, have you ever heard of John Lennon? An overly obsessive fan killed him. Some people are just crazy like that.

To **Green**: I care about more things than reviews damn it! I was feeling depressed that day and decided to take it out on my Taito! … -_- sorry, you weren't the only to say that. I just kind of went off on you.

To **Jama**-**sama**: You're evil. Did you know that? Nah, I'm kidding. I just thought I'd tell you that there isn't much changed in this chapter from when I sent it to you. I added the whole Ken and Yamato scene, and I think you just might be the only one who gets the whole Ken-snooping thing – I didn't even expect _you_ to see it – but maybe someone else will! I certainly hope so!

To **Everyone-Else-Who-Reviewed **for _Love Me Always_: Thank you! I'd personally thank you all, but I'm running out of page room, and I kind of like my fics to be cut off just perfectly. Okay, okay, so it's slight OCD, but not much! Honest! Lol ^_^

*  *  *

Yamato sighed as he unlocked his apartment door. He stumbled in, somewhat buzzed from having a few drinks after meeting up with Daisuke, yet not quite drunk. Letting out another sigh, he fell back against his door and closed his eyes. There was a moment that his mind began to wander back to the happenings of the night, but his thoughts quickly vanished when he realized that he couldn't hear anything but the sound of his own breath. Leaning forward he looked around. Usually by now his cat, would appear and beg for dinner.

"Mercury… here kitty, kitty," Yamato called. He pushed away from the door, pausing to shake out of his jacket and shoes. He sighed yet another time before glancing in the kitchen and moving towards the living room. "There you are…"

The silver gray cat stared at him from the back of the couch, its tail swishing back and forth. As Yamato walked towards him, he hissed and jumped off the couch, dashing away into the shadows.

"Your cat doesn't like me."

Yamato spun around at the sound of Akihiko's voice. Akihiko stood in the living room doorway, leaning against the frame and lighting a cigarette, or so Yamato could tell as all he could see was a dark, outlined shadow and he could hear the click of a lighter, then soon the red glow. Yamato frowned, somewhat annoyed, and started to pick up things that had been dropped by his previous visitors earlier that day.

"You haven't started yet," Akihiko mumbled.

"Started what?" Yamato snapped. He was not in the mood to have to deal with this, but then he remembered the weeks before on the swing set. "Oh yeah. That. No I haven't started. I've been busy."

Akihiko grunted and stepped towards Yamato, blowing smoke in his face. "Busy with what? That little hooker? Yes, I have been watching you and him. He's quite the eye candy, isn't he?"

"He was just an old friend," Yamato growled, pushing Akihiko away from him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure you still remembered that you have a job to do, which you evidently didn't. Let me remind you, Yamato, that if you don't do your job by the time limit, which is two weeks in case you've forgotten while tasting such sweets, then I will personally see to your demise. Do I make myself clear?" Akihiko walked to the balcony doors and stared out them, taking another puff on his cigarette. When Yamato didn't reply, he barely glanced over his shoulder, creating a rather threatening look for himself. "I said, do I make myself clear?"

"As clear as a cloudy day," Yamato mumbled, staring at his shoes, trying to keep from meeting with Akihiko's dark eyes whether he'd admit that out loud or not.

Akihiko smiled faintly and slid open the glass doors to throw his cigarette. "Good. I didn't want to knock off my best hand." He closed the door and turned back around to face Yamato for a short moment before heading for the front of the apartment, stopping momentarily to whisper quietly, "Don't disappoint me."

Yamato nodded and waited until he heard the door shut before letting out a sigh of relief. Nothing like coming home to his worst fear. A bit shakily, Yamato moved to the couch, dropping onto it without care. He stared at the wall in front of him, trying to remember where he'd put the envelope Akihiko had given him. Thinking about it made guilt grip his heart. Out of all the people in Japan, in the world, it had to be one of his former friends, a former digidestined. Out of the billions of people…

*  *  *

A sharp knock on the front door woke Yamato. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, trying to straighten it as best he could. He'd fallen asleep the night before on the couch while thinking about how screwed up his life had become. Mumbling, he pushed Mercury off his lap and got up, staggering a bit as the blood rushed to his head. He blinked away the headache that was likely to come by this, and began to amble to the door. Whoever had knocked had quit, either figuring he wasn't home or knew he was the type to be slow when awoken at 6:30 in the morning.

"Taichi…" Yamato muttered when he opened the door. "What are you doing here this early?"

"I wanted to see you before I went to work. We need to talk… about Daisuke," Taichi said, stepping into the apartment without waiting for an invitation. Yamato closed the door behind him, suddenly very awake at the mention of Daisuke, and quickly pulled Taichi to his kitchen where he could talk and make a cup of coffee. Taichi sat down at the table and watched Yamato start on his breakfast, which consisted of only coffee and had been that way for years. "So, you can begin any time now."

"Begin with what?" Yamato asked. "About how I met Daisuke, or what happened last night when I found him?"

Taichi hesitated. "How long ago was it that you met him?"

"About three… four… maybe five weeks ago…"

"Then go ahead and explain what went on last night, because that's too long ago for me to really care at the moment. He seemed pretty pissed at you," Taichi said.

Yamato sighed. "Well, he basically told me it felt great to have a true friend again, but I ruined that all last night when I tried to get the rest of you reacquainted with him. He said he worked ten years to avoid every last one of us. He wouldn't tell me why, but now I'm probably never going to see him again."

"Where did you see him after the two of you ran out?" Taichi asked.

"Uh… well, it's kind of weird if you think about, but he works at Streamer's Blow 'n Glow. Ever heard of it?" Yamato said uneasily.

Taichi smiled, but then it dropped. "Actually I have. He works there? How odd… You're right… That is kind of weird. He never seemed the type to go into stripping before, but then it has been ten years and that's a long time, and he did always have the body for it."

"That's not funny, and it's called exotic dancing," Yamato corrected. "He got kind of miffed when I called him a stripper. Anyway, I don't know what to think. What I want to know is why did he leave ten years ago, what has he really been doing since, and what happened between him and Ken."

"Something happened between him and Ken? When?" Taichi demanded, crossing his arms over his chest with a frown.

"Seven years ago. Apparently I wasn't the first to see Daisuke after he disappeared, and Ken never felt that it was important to tell the rest of us, but Daisuke has a deep hatred for Ken now. Last night, I could practically feel the dangerous vibes coming off his body when I mentioned Ken." Yamato shivered slightly and took a sip of him coffee. Remembering the angry glow in Daisuke's eyes was enough to set his nerves on end. So much had changed about the boy.

"You'd better watch it Yamato. Ken isn't stupid you know. He mentioned last night after you left that he felt uneasy around you, like you were hiding something. If you're not careful, he's going to figure the truth, not this load of horseshit you make up," Taichi warned.

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Thanks for caring, but I'm not worried. Ken doesn't have a clue, and if I play my cards right he never will have one. Besides, it's not like I'm waving a banner in the air screaming, 'Guess who I've killed for money!' okay? Ken is smart, but so am I."

"Just thought I'd give you a heads up," Taichi sighed. He stood up, stretched, and idly moved his foot back and forth as Mercury chased his shoelaces. "I'd love to stay and talk this out some more, but I'm due at work in about ten minutes so I'd better get a move on if I want to be there on time. What do you say we meet up at lunch tomorrow and discuss this more in depth?"

"I can't, sorry. I'm going to be really busy for the next two and a half weeks," Yamato grumbled, bitterly recalling Akihiko's visit the night before.

"Oh… New one already, eh?" Taichi asked, giving Yamato a frown. "Well, call me whenever you get a free chance."

"Yeah, whatever," Yamato muttered.

He turned back to pour another cup of coffee as Taichi saw his own way out. Resting back against the counter, he closed his eyes and lightly banged his head on the cabinets, chastising himself. There was a soft meow from the floor and he opened his eyes to look at Mercury sitting on the tabletop now, blinking his big green eyes, curiously wondering why he hadn't received his breakfast yet. Yamato smiled weakly and bent over to pick up the cat's bowl.

"Well, Merc, looks like I'm in too deep now," he said, opening a can of cat food. All he got was a simple meow in return, making him smile again. At least _someone_ needed him to stay alive. He set the bowl back on the floor and watched as his feline friend attacked it, much reminding him of the way Daisuke had devoured a sandwich once on one of their many lunch meetings. Groaning, Yamato let his head drop against the cabinet behind him and stared at the ceiling. "If Daisuke doesn't want to talk to me, then fine, but that doesn't mean I never have to see him again."

Satisfied, Yamato left the kitchen to get dressed. Today he would spend half the day observing his client – taking pictures, marking areas he went often during the day, and such other things – and the other half he'd keep an eye on Daisuke. He did his job, and he did it well. Moreover, he didn't want to upset Akihiko after the long time it'd taken for him to convince the older man he was worthy of him.

Yamato smirked, a bit devilishly. "Today will be fun."

*  *  *

Ken looked at the patch on his arm and then at the person smoking next to him. He was craving the nicotine, but Miyako would kill him if she found out about it, and she would because she'd smell it on his clothes. He was tempted to tell her to step off, but at the same time he wanted to break his filthy habit also. The last thing he needed was to make his life any shorter than it already was. He could do without having to face lung cancer along with vengeful relatives of criminals he'd caught and exposed.

Speaking of exposure, the back door to Streamer's opened and out stepped Daisuke. As soon as he saw Ken, he sighed, aggravated, and rolled his eyes. He closed the door and walked to where Ken was standing and leaned against the wall beside him.

"You know I owe you a punch to the face for giving Yamato this address don't you?" Daisuke said quietly. Ken turned his head to look at him but said nothing. "I have to get a new job now asshole."

"Like that will be hard for you to do," Ken replied sourly. He got a sharp look for the comment, yet chose to ignore it. "I thought you never wanted to see any of the people from your childhood again, Daisuke. Does Yamato not count? Can't keep your hands off a sexy blonde?"

"You know what Ken? I don't have to take your shit right now," Daisuke growled. He pushed off the wall, intent on leaving, but Ken grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He stared at Daisuke softly, apologizing with his eyes. Daisuke pulled his arm away, although he stayed. "What is it you need?"

"I think Yamato has something to do with Nakatsuru Akemi's death," Ken explained.

"You mean his drummer from his rock band? That was what? Eight, nine years ago? Digging up old murder cases now, Ken?" Daisuke shook his head disbelievingly. "Do explain."

"I got a call from an old friend the other day and he told me that he thinks his life is in danger. Apparently he looked into something he shouldn't have and now he feels like someone is out to get him. I told him I'd look into it." Ken paused, as if thinking. "Last night when I was at Yamato's, I noticed that there was an envelope on his kitchen table. Me being the curious person I am looked at it, and you wouldn't believe what I saw. Inside just so happened to be a picture of my old friend, as well as where he worked, what his home life was like, and some personal things that Yamato shouldn't have known unless he'd been keeping surveillance. So I tried doing a background check on him this morning, except there's a problem: Ishida Yamato does not exist anymore. He disappeared from the written records about the same time Nakatsuru died. Didn't show up for the funeral or anything."

Daisuke stared at him impassively. "You're more screwed up now than you were seven years ago Ken."

"Daisuke…"

"No, seriously. I mean, come on. Yamato killing someone? What is going on in that head of yours? You're paranoid Ken, simply paranoid. Did it occur to you that maybe Yamato was devastated by the loss of one of his good friends and just couldn't deal? No, it didn't. Another thing: You see Yamato at least once a month don't you? Just because you can't find his files doesn't mean his 'disappeared from written records' as you oddly put it." Daisuke sighed. "I hope whatever you get yourself into this time you don't somehow end up dragging me down with you like you did before. I can't take that again Ken. You ruined my life once, please don't do it again."

Ken watched Daisuke turn around and start to walk off. "For what it's worth Daisuke," he said softly, raising his head to see Daisuke had paused to hear what he had to say, "I'm sorry."

Daisuke nodded once and began to walk again, not replying to him. It wasn't too long that he was far enough down the street that he was no longer in sight. Ken sighed sadly and wondered if Daisuke would ever forgive him for what he did. It had been stupid, perhaps even the stupidest thing he'd ever done in his life. Ken understood why Daisuke hated him, and he always would, but he couldn't help wishing…

Daisuke swallowed uneasily as he walked down the dimly lit street. As much as he hated to admit Ken was right, he was right. There was something… odd about Yamato. Something dangerous, ominous even. Just being in his presence made Daisuke's nerves leap on end. Yet it was that same threatening feeling that attracted Daisuke to Yamato. That feeling that something terrifying and deadly would be happening in his future. Daisuke amazed himself at how he could want to feel that again.

_Again_…

Scowling, Daisuke pushed his way into a small coffee shop. He wasn't in the mood to drink coffee, but sitting down with a warm cup appealed to him. He chose a spot by the window where he could look at the people who passed by. The times when he sat and observed the different types of people were the times when he straightened his muddles thoughts. A waiter came by after a moment and he ordered a plain cup of coffee.

When the cup was brought to him, it was by another man, and not someone who worked at the shop. He sat in front of Daisuke, setting the cup down on the small table, and smiled brightly. At first Daisuke was going to tell the man he wanted to be alone, but the man's smile froze him in place. It wasn't a friendly smile; more of an intimidating one that was _meant_ to come across as friendly. However, Daisuke spent most of his time studying people's features and he knew a fake smile.

"Motomiya Daisuke, I presume?" the man asked. His voice was low and quiet, and his eyes scanned Daisuke with interest.

"That is me, but may I ask who you are?" Daisuke replied, taking the cup of coffee to warm his cold hands.

The man continued to study him a bit more, his wicked smile growing larger. "I have a proposition for you. I hear you just left your work?"

Daisuke sighed. "I dance, nothing more, nothing less. I don't think I'm the person you want."

"I know," the man chuckled. "I had no… _impish_ thoughts in mind. I want to hire you for something else. I think you'd appreciate the money I can offer you."

"Something else?" Daisuke said doubtfully, frowning. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I need you to 'stand and look pretty' so to speak. Nothing more, nothing less." The man's eyes bore into his own, making a shudder ripple through his body and he shifted awkwardly under the hard stare.

"I don't even know who you are?" he said quietly. The end of his sentence died a little, making the man across from him grin wider. He swallowed nervously and shifted again. "How much money are you talking? I don't work for a few measly dollars, whether it's to just stand or more than that. If you say you've got the money, you'd better."

"We'll discuss the money issue later," the man smirked. Daisuke's frown deepened and he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as the man suddenly leaned forward, running the back of his hand down Daisuke's cheek. He leaned far enough across the small table so that his face was next to Daisuke's, his hot breath tickling the other's neck. When he spoke again, his voice was in a husky murmur. "We'll discuss it later, okay? I promise you'll get what you need, and a sufficient amount it shall be. Now, are you going to take the offer or not?"

Daisuke was shaking. He could tell because when he caught a glimpse of the coffee in his mug, it was rippling across the top from his body's vibrations. Once more, he swallowed nervously, trying to take slower breaths to slow the rate that his heart had suddenly decided to take. "I'll take it, as long as you remember that I'm not a sexual tool."

The man sat back down, sneering with a distinct air. "Like I said, all you will do is dance."

Daisuke nodded. He closed his eyes for a moment, finally managing to calm himself, and reopened them once more. He stared fixedly at the man sitting across from him. "What is your name?"

"Akihiko, but _you_ may call me Aki."

*  *  *

Ken ripped a cigarette from its package. He felt around on his coat for his lighter, groaning when he remembered that Miyako took it from him since she didn't trust him not to smoke. _Well, she had a right to not trust me_. He thought with a sigh. He looked at the package of cigarettes in his hand and threw it away, along with the one he'd already pulled out. Still somewhat aggravated, he entered the nearest store and got some gum to chew on. At least it might keep his mind off the nicotine.

With another sigh, he began to walk towards his home; although, he went very slowly, taking his time to look at the scenery around him. He didn't want to go home. It wasn't that his marriage with Miyako was going under, if anything it was getting better – much to his distaste. There were times when he wished Miyako would grow weary of him and kick him out. That'd never happen, and he had to think of his children and how they'd be affected.

The apartment building Ken lived in loomed in front of him. He shivered and walked on, hoping that his life would somehow get out of its seven-year-rut and move on to something happier. That wasn't easy to do with Daisuke still around.

It hadn't been hard for Ken to find Daisuke; after all, he didn't change his name or anything to really disappear. He just… left. All Ken had to do was look up his name, put a few physical traits in the entry box, and viola! Motomiya Daisuke found. Three years after Daisuke 'disappeared' he was found. Was Ken excited to see his lost friend? Of course. Was Daisuke excited? Not at all.

The hardest thing for Ken was getting Daisuke to open up. He promised not to tell anyone that he'd found Daisuke, and in return Daisuke helped him with a very hard case he was on at the time. In fact, if Ken hadn't met up with Daisuke, then he would have never solved his case, and he would have never become the top detective he was. It was embarrassing, really, that an exotic dancer could solve a case faster than he could, but then Daisuke wasn't an exotic dancer then. He was a sales agent for some stupid car company.

Still, it was embarrassing.

"I'm home," Ken called as he stepped inside.

Miyako peeked around the corner and smiled at him. "Hey, have a good day?"

"Not really," Ken mumbled. He received a sympathetic look from Miyako as he sat down at the table. She was currently stirring something in a bowl and humming softly, implying she had something on her mind. The only time she baked was when she wanted to think something over. Ken waited patiently for her to start.

"Can you believe it? Daisuke… after all these years…" Miyako began at last.

_Yeah, I saw him about two hours ago_. Ken thought. "What about him?"

"He was so rude. You'd think if you hadn't seen someone in ten years you'd be excited, but the way he blew off Kari and screamed at Yamato," Miyako said with a shiver. "How foul. I never want to hear those words come out of your mouth Ken, especially around the children. If you do, I will murder you in your sleep. I'm glad we didn't bring the children with us. Honestly. He's a grown man. I don't care if he was mad at Yamato. He shouldn't have acted like that. And why do you think he yelled at Yamato the way he did? How long do you suppose those two have been in contact with each other?"

Ken listened to Miyako go on and on about Daisuke. He seriously considered asking her to shut up, possibly even telling her what happened seven years before, but decided against it. Quite frankly, if there was anyone he was scared of, it was Miyako.

*  *  *

The phone was ringing. He could tell that much. It was ringing loud enough to shake him form his sleep. Actually, it wasn't a ring. It was a useless theme from an old TV show that kept repeating over and over, which meant it was his cell phone ringing. It wouldn't stop either. Normally if he ignored it long enough whomever it was trying to get a hold of him eventually gave up. Not this time however.

Groaning, Takeru rolled over and looked at his clock. 5:23 AM. And the blasted phone continued to go off. Mumbling something about persistent assholes that had no concept of time, he slid from the bed to where his jacket was hung carelessly over the back of a chair. He went through all the pockets before discovering that his phone had fallen out and was on the floor. He grabbed the phone and sat in the chair.

"What?" Takeru snapped, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey Takeru!" Yamato's voice rang through the phone, sounding entirely too cheerful and awake for his taste. "Can you meet me at Peach's? We need to talk."

"It's fucking 5:30 in the morning, dipshit. I'm going back to sleep," Takeru growled. He pressed the end button and turned off the phone. As he made his way back to his bed, his bedside phone rang. He grabbed it and shouted into the phone as loud as his tired body would allow, "Get the fuck to sleep, Yamato!"

At that, he slammed the phone back down and pulled the cord from the wall. He ran a hand lazily through his hair and fell onto his bed, slipping into dreams before he even hit the pillow. He was on a very thin line of reality when he heard banging on his front door. At first, it was a banging in his dream that he couldn't figure out, but pretty soon he was awake enough to realize that someone had arrived at his apartment and clearly wanted in.

With a vicious growl, he crawled from the bed and grabbed his robe. He slipped into it as he made his way to the front door, not even bother to look through the peephole since he already had a good feeling of who it was. He swung the door open and looked at his brother dangerously. "What the hell are you doing here? You'd better be damn glad that Anii and Nona are out of town, otherwise Anii would have your fucked up head on a platter."

"Do you realize how bad your language is at the moment? Anii wouldn't be to thrilled to hear that," Yamato replied casually, pushing his way into the apartment. Takeru slammed the door behind him. "And I bet the neighbors didn't appreciate that."

"Why the fuck are you here Yamato? And I'm well aware of my language. I don't appreciate being woken this damn early in the morning. Some of us have real jobs and we need sleep," Takeru grumbled. He followed his brother into the kitchen and watched as he started to make some coffee.

"I have a real job. In fact, that's what I want to talk to you about…" Yamato tapped his fingers on the counter, waiting for his coffee to hurry up. That was all it seemed he consumed recently: coffee. He didn't like it much, but needed it to keep him awake.

Takeru sighed, quite annoyed, and sat down at the table, laying his head on it and closing his eyes. "Just get to the fucking point."

"Patience in a virtue Takeru," Yamato said softly. "You're already awake and you know that you wont be able to go back to sleep after I leave, so why not trying to calm it, all right?"

"I don't feel like calming it," Takeru muttered, his voice somewhat muffled as he turned so that his forehead was on the edge of the table. "If you would skip this bullshit it would put me in a better mood, Yamato."

Yamato smiled at Takeru over his shoulder. "See? I have your curiosity."

"Yes, so spill it already!"

"Spill what?"

"Whatever the fuck you have to tell me!"

Yamato paused to pour some coffee into a mug. He turned around and faced Takeru. "Before I ran into Daisuke – minutes before, actually – my advisor brought me a new task. I flipped through the papers, only to find that I have to off someone very close… someone that I don't want to off…"

Takeru felt his mind scream as his brother's eyes pierced through his own.

*  *  *

Daisuke didn't like the place he was in at the moment. It was a house, a rather large house, but it had absolutely no feeling of comfort and safety. Instead, it was filled with an eerie painful dread, like the walls would start shedding bloody tears at any moment and its suffering would swallow all inhabitants whole. Daisuke could feel his heart twist as a familiar sensation of dread coursed through his veins and mind. This place was not right, no matter how many pictures of family and happiness were on the walls, for all the frozen faces had false joy.

"Make yourself at home."

Daisuke jumped as Akihiko's low voice drifted from behind him like a whisper in the night air. He didn't bother to glance at the creepy man standing behind him and simply headed to one of the couches. He did startle once more, though, when a firm hand gripped his arm. He jerked his arm away and spun around. Akihiko smirked again, knowing that his presence was scaring the wits out of Daisuke.

"Let me have your coat," he said, already beginning to slip it off of Daisuke's shoulders.

There was a brief hesitation before Daisuke nodded and allowed Akihiko to take his coat.  He was hit instantly by the chilly, yet dead, air of the empty house. He'd expected it feel that way – the feeling being somewhere near normal to him – but it still made more shivers descend through him. Akihiko had disappeared with his coat into one of the rooms, so he once more started towards the couch. He halted when he saw the substantial cat that had placed itself in the middle of the cushions. It was a longhaired, white cat, but a thick-liquid red matter, to which the beast was cleaning slowly, had matted ones of its white paws.

"Daisuke."

Daisuke's eyes snapped to Akihiko standing in the doorway. "Yes?"

"Why don't we relocate to a more… professional room," Akihiko stated, eyes cold and in the same low voice that Daisuke was beginning to associate with him.

"Of course," Daisuke replied, staring back coldly. He glimpsed at the cat before following Akihiko out, noticing now that it had tucked its paws underneath its front and was watching him with the same uncanny look that seemed to be plastered on Akihiko's face.

Akihiko was a few feet in front of Daisuke and moved sharply to his left where a dark room was. Daisuke followed, constantly glancing about at his surroundings. He stepped into the room right behind Akihiko and suddenly felt very small. In the room were three other men, all looking like they could easily lift a bus, which was a stark contrast to the frail look of Akihiko's form. Daisuke himself looked nothing but an ant compared to the men.

"I'd like you to meet some of your coworkers," Akihiko purred in his ear, having moved next to him. "They… ah, shall we say _correct_ those out of line for me. You don't wish to cross them. My advice is to stay quiet."

"Okay…" Daisuke replied slowly. He was still eyeing the three men. "And what exactly do you want me to do now?"

"Breakfast," Akihiko replied heartedly, slapping him on the back. "Surely that coffee didn't fill you up, and what better way to meet people than to sit down and eat with them?"

Now Daisuke noticed the dining table on the far side of the room, barely lit by a few lights. Akihiko motioned for him to follow, which he did and so did the three other men. They sat down at the table, Akihiko seated on the end and the other four men sitting on the sides. The man Daisuke was placed by had black hair and a red mustache. He grinned at Daisuke, showing all his teeth, and so Daisuke grinned feebly back, still feeling a bit tense.

"This," Akihiko announced to Daisuke and held out his hand to the man sitting on his left, "is Habacus, and that is his brother Hroc. They are from France, and this," he moved his hand to the man beside Daisuke, "is Vanyusha from Russia. This, men, is Daisuke."

*  *  *

Yamato left his brother's apartment about noon, leaving him to pack clothes and some wanted items before leaving. Ever since Yamato had become what he was, Takeru had been held on alert just in case his family needed to skip town. It had never been necessary before, but then Yamato didn't have problems getting rid of those who held no importance to him. However, it was going to be a great task for him to complete his assignment this time, and just in case he didn't, he wanted Takeru nowhere near Tokyo. Akihiko wasn't one known for his kindness. He was famous for the line, 'I don't get mad; I get even'.

However, thinking about Akihiko made Yamato's thoughts drift to Ken and what Taichi mentioned earlier about Ken getting uneasy and curious. He also remembered that his envelope had been disturbed, as if opened. This worried him a bit, but there was nothing he could do now if Ken had looked at the profile. Even if Ken did pose as a threat, Yamato could quickly silence him. They had never been much of friends anyway, and Taichi or Takeru would definitely tell him if Ken was asking questions.

No, that was wrong. Yamato wouldn't kill Ken without reason. He would first ask Ken to keep his mouth shut – never tell the secrets that were supposed to be hidden – and if Ken decided that that was too hard for him to do, Yamato could hit him across the head really hard in hopes that he would get amnesia and forget everything from his previous life. Then, if that didn't work, he'd kill Ken.

Of course, upon thinking of Ken, it was almost impossible to keep from thinking of Daisuke. There were so many things unanswered that had been thrown into the world of question. So many things Yamato wanted to know, although some of the things he wanted to know had nothing to do with Daisuke's past seven years or why he did what he did, but those questions weren't simply something you could walk up and ask someone.

"Hello Yamato."

Snapping from his thoughts, Yamato looked up. His eyes caught with dark violet ones, and he scowled inwardly. Outwardly, he smiled politely at the person who'd been the object of his thoughts a minute or two before.

"Well, hello Ken! What brings you to this side of the city?" he asked with fake cheerfulness.

"I was just walking," Ken replied smoothly. "I'm glad we bumped into each other. I have a few questions I wanted to ask you."

_Damn_. "Oh? Am I under suspicion, Ken?" Yamato laughed.

Ken forced a weak smile. "Something like that. Care to join me?"

He gestured towards the tavern on their left. Tempted to fabricate some lie to avoid this little charade, Yamato decided against it, figuring he'd have to deal with this sooner or later, and sooner was a lot better than later since it would be over and done with. He repaid Ken with a similar fake smile. "Sure, but not for long. I need to get home and work on some important business."

"I understand," Ken nodded and the two stepped inside the tavern. "There's not much I want to ask."

A thick alcohol smell immediately hit the two. Both of them had had their share of alcohol and neither was bothered at all by this. They sat down in two chairs at the bar. Ken ordered something – having not had any type of alcohol in a while because of Miyako – but Yamato passed the alcohol and just got a glass of water. He knew well enough that if he had one drink, he'd end up having a whole lot more, and being a drunk spilling deep, dark secrets was not something he needed in his life at the moment.

"So… feel free to start asking questions at any time," Yamato said casually.

"Do you know anyone by the name Keshena Akihiko?" Ken asked, not looking at Yamato. He ran his finger around the top of his glass, making a soft whirring noise, although the TV nearby playing a soccer game mostly drowned it out.

"No. Never heard of him." Years of experience had trained Yamato for such questions. There had been a time when he was skittish and always looking over his shoulder, but it had been so long since those days. He was an expert in his field, although, if one were not, one would die.

"I see. I guess then that you don't know who Dante-Shi is," Ken stated. He took a sip of his beverage and looked at Yamato over the top of the glass.

_He's trying to trip me up_. "Oh, I've heard of him. He was accused of being behind the Anson murders a couple years ago, wasn't he?" Yamato toned his voice of that to be an everyday person's. The truth was, _he_ had been the one to _carry out_ the Anson murders and knew well enough that Dante-Shi had nothing to do with that subject.

Ken frowned. He'd been so ready to catch Yamato's mistakes, and yet the older man was showing no weaknesses. _Maybe Daisuke is right. Maybe I am screwed up_. "I was just thinking, Yamato, how did things go over with Daisuke the other night."

"Ah," Yamato sighed. "Not too good. I barely managed to catch him, and even then he wasn't too thrilled to see me. He mentioned something killing you for giving me the address."

The way Yamato said his last sentence made Ken's skin crawl. He stiffened at the glint that caught in the blue eyes staring at him. "Oh… I see… I was just curious. I only a few more questions and then we'll be finished."

Yamato nodded. "All right."

"Do you remember Nakatsuru Akemi?" Ken caught the falter that went through Yamato's features and felt a wave of encouragement. Perhaps he was on the right trail.

"Yeah," Yamato murmured softly. "I remember Akemi. I remember exactly where I was standing when I found out that he was murdered; the time of day, what Istu was doing, and Toshiki, and how we all were horrified and didn't want to believe it. How could I forget? Have you found anything about his attacker? Is there a break through?"

Ken repressed the urge to scowl. He'd honestly thought he'd hit something. "I think there might be a connection between his death and a more recent one."

"Do those two people – Dante-Shi and that other guy – have anything to do with it?" Yamato asked.

"I think so… I'm not sure yet," Ken sighed. He lied about the recent death. He was beginning to think that there was going to be one, but nothing had happened yet. In fact, the person who'd come to him before with the fear for their life was now saying they felt safe. _I hate wild goose chases_.

"Well, Ken," Yamato said standing up, "I hope you find what you're looking for, and I wish I could help, but I need to go. Hate having a working life, you know? I miss when we were just wild teenagers."

"Yeah," Ken grumbled as Yamato walked away. "Wild teenagers."

Yamato let out a huge sigh of relief as soon as he exited the tavern. Ken hadn't been as probing as he'd expected, but those confrontations were better left not happening. He wondered how Ken had found out about Akihiko, seeing as the man was not listed anywhere on any files. He. Did. Not. Exist. He made his money the same way Yamato did. _Keshena Akihiko_… _What are you getting me into?_

*  *  *

I know this is barely even longer than my other chapter, but I figured that was a good place to cut it off at. I'm still busy with some other fics, so it will be a while before the next chapter comes out. The only reason this one is finished right now is because I had an idea sprint these past few days. The next chapter is going to be a little more… risqué. I really want to know what you people think, so review!!


	3. Realizations

I know Takeru is supposed to have a son, but I want him to have a daughter. So there. ^_^ And no one has asked, but I want to tell anyway: Akihiko looks kind of like _Armand_ from _Interview With A Vampire_. He's the one that's kind of tall with long, straight black hair. You can think of him any way you like.

LOL, my sister just pointed something out to me. Takeru was married to Hikari in the first chapter and in the second he's married to Anii. WHOOPS! My mistake. Just ignore that. -_-

And I have no idea how to hot wire a car. I know! I'm a horrible rebel! But if you notice that it's wrong, then sorry.

*  *  *

Daisuke stared at the pictures on the wall, his eyes searching for more than what the picture gave. He searched their frames, the wall surround them, and the glass that covered them. Anything that might lead him to find what he needed. This was one of the few times he'd managed to slip away from Akihiko and the other three without one of them questioning his motives. He'd been treading on thin ice before, but now he was practically walking on water, if not about to fall in.

In the time that Daisuke had spent at the Keshena home – not knowing how long since there were no clocks and he hadn't left since arrival – he'd made a few opinions about the new environment. First, he didn't like Vanyusha, the Russian. The large man seemed to eye him with a certain taste that he did not want to expose. Hroc and Habacus simply ignored Daisuke, but Vanyusha definitely had something on his mind.

Then there was Akihiko. The man sent chills through Daisuke every time they locked eyes. Regret was beginning to weigh heavily upon Daisuke's shoulders, and he often studied the halls for a means of escape if need be. Akihiko had told him that later they would go to visit Dante-Shi Kenta. This bothered Daisuke, but he wouldn't allow Akihiko or any of the others know that. He _couldn't_ let them know that, yet there was something about the name Dante-Shi that did not please him.

"It's time…"

Daisuke startled and spun around.

"Did I frighten you?" Akihiko laughed emptily. "You are quite amusing, dear Daisuke. Please, come with me. The others are waiting, as is Dante-Shi."

Akihiko led him back to the front door, handing him his coat, and the two stepped outside. The sun was high in the sky, but the dark storm clouds that had overcome the sky earlier were still there and they created a shade upon the earth as they dripped rain here and there. The black car that Daisuke had come in till sat in the circle drive, except now a black van sat behind it and upon its driver seat was Hroc.

"Habacus will go with Hroc, but you are to come with me," Akihiko said, and led Daisuke to the car as Habacus, who'd at some time gotten behind them, went to the van. "Vanyusha will stay here, which I know pleases you some."

Daisuke looked at Akihiko but said nothing. It wasn't long before he was staring out the car window at the buildings and people zipping past. He was constantly on edge, not only because of Akihiko's presence, but that each minute he was getting closer and closer to Dante-Shi, a name that he was beginning to coincide with fear. The worst part was that Akihiko didn't have to be told this; he appeared to know perfectly well of how uneasy Daisuke was.

"What do I do?" Daisuke asked.

"You, my friend, are to do what I told you to do. Stand and look pretty." Akihiko smirked at the comment and glanced at Daisuke staring out the window. "However, I will warn you this: don't object to anything Dante-Shi tells you or asks of you."

"May I know why?"

"Because you will be dead if you do."

_Well,_ that _is certainly convincing_. Daisuke thought. _I'm a fool for letting _him_ convince me to take this_.

*  *  *

_"Ken!" Daisuke couldn't help the flutter that went through his heart upon seeing his old friend. It'd been three years… so long. And how had Ken managed to find him? He gave the now young man standing on his door jam a very surprised happy look. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"_

_Ken brushed his still long hair behind his ear and smiled. "Hello Daisuke. It's been a while. I'm in the police academy now, and I just thought I'd look you up. You know… for old times sake."_

_Daisuke grinned brightly. "The come on in!"_

*  *  *

Ken shuffled through files both on his computer and on his desk. He was looking for as much information as he could on Motomiya Daisuke, Ishida Yamato, Keshena Akihiko, and the one commonly referred to as Dante-Shi. Oddly, Ken had never heard the last's first name, and that was one of the things he wanted to learn so he could go farther into his search. Papers were scattered all over the floor surrounding Ken's desk and his fellow employees walked past with curious looks. None of them had seen the famous Ichijouji Ken get so messy over a simple case.

Only Ken wasn't working on the simple case that he was supposed to be working on, and there was only one person besides him who knew this. That person, at the very moment, was making his way to Ken's desk with a very unhappy look on his face, and happened to be the one person that Ken had to answer to.

In the computer screen, Ken saw the reflection of his supervisor and groaned inwardly. "Yes Ganji?"

"Ichijouji, what is this?" Ganji demanded. "You're supposed to be working on the murder case I assigned you to about a month and half ago, and you haven't even started! Now, there are families that want answers and I can't have you slacking off for personal things."

"This isn't personal," Ken muttered, still not turning around.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm looking into the Dante-Shi case, which…" Ken finally turned around to face his superior. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be reassigned to."

Ganji sighed. "Listen, Ichijouji, you're a good agent, a damn good agent, but we that case is way out of your league. I already have someone working on that case, and I assure you that that person doesn't need your help."

"Then why hasn't this person caught his man yet? I already have a good jump and know exactly who to talk to!" Ken jumped from his chair and grabbed a folder he kept on Yamato. "Here, look at this. Ishida Yamato, ex-famous rock star. I _know_ he has something to do with Keshena Akihiko, and Keshena has connections with Dante-Shi. Now, if I can only get…"

Ganji waved his hand to silence Ken. "Yes, you have done very well to get this far so fast, but the person I have assigned has gotten much, much further and worked hard to maintain his position in the case. I don't want you screwing everything up. Now, work on your case, or quit."

For the first time, Ken was asked to turn down a case, and this appalled him. It had taken him a whole of two weeks at the max to get as far as he was, and this supposed person working on the case had to have taken at least a year or so. So why would someone who knew as much as Ganji not switch their places? It was obvious Ken was getting somewhere, and he wasn't going to let a job get in the way of him. "In that case, I quit."

Although, Miyako would be quite ticked.

"Don't," Ganji warned quietly. Several of the other employees had stopped what they were doing to watch the fiasco. "Ken, as a friend, I advise you to not go any further into this. You have no idea what you are dealing with. I've already lost two agents on this case, and I'm most likely going to lose another. I need you to stay. Wait till we get more information and then I'll call for you, but for now, just stay quiet and mind your own cases."

"I can't do that," Ken snarled. "I grew up with Ishida thinking he was a friend, and only most recently I have learned he is my worst enemy. How do you think that makes me feel? To know that one day, I might have to put a bullet through one of my friends? To know that _he_ would kill me in a second if I were to hesitate? I can't let this drop. I want to find Dante-Shi and stop him, and Keshena Akihiko. And if… if Ishida Yamato has any connections with them, then I will stop him as well."

Ganji shook his head sadly and stepped back for Ken to walk past. "Dig your own grave."

Ken gave him a glare, grabbed some portfolios off his desk, and stomped past. He ignored the looks everyone was giving him, some being sympathetic, some not understanding, and others simply shaking their heads and going on with their work. Ken, of course, would come back later to clear off his desk, and he was certain Ganji would again ask him not to prod at things that weren't his business and offer him his job back. Ken simply couldn't do that knowing what he knew.

And since when had there been someone on the Dante-Shi case? As far as Ken had found, there wasn't a single soul working on the case. It was merely floating around the station like a whispered rumor. Was there even a Dante-Shi _case_, or was it just wishful thinking that many of the detectives had. After all, Dante-Shi had been accused several times of various murders and the like, but he was convicted for none and the cases were dropped. From what Ken had learned, Dante-Shi had friends in high places, and now – thinking on that – Ken began to believe that even Ganji was a part of it all.

_I_ can't _believe that. Ganji has always been an honest man_. Ken's rational thought forced its way past his anger and suddenly he wanted to run screaming down the street for he had just quit his job and his wife was going to murder him without any mercy. He was tempted to turn around, go back into the station, and apologize, asking for his job back, but – being of the male gender – his pride told him to wait just a little longer to do such.

"Oh, hello Ichijouji-san."

Being pulled from his thoughts was never an option that Ken enjoyed. He lifted his head to snap a greeting at whomever it was that just so happened to be passing him and felt it polite to disturb the most important of his reflections. Conversely, it was _Yagami Taichi_ standing before him on the sidewalk, and he quickly closed his mouth. Taichi and Yamato were good friends, the best of the best to be truthful. Certainly they _still_ told each other _everything_.

"Hello, Taichi," Ken said brightly, plastering a smile to his face. "How are you today?"

_And I gave you permission to use my first name… when_? Taichi thought with a distinct hateful note, but opted to not voice this current notion. "I am doing just fine. "How're Miyako and the kids."

_I hate that. If someone wants to know how they're doing, why don't they go see for themselves_? "Fine, fine. Miyako's finally making me quit my bad habit of smoking," Ken replied politely. This also reminded him of how Yamato used to smoke. "I guess after me, the only person we'll have to un-addict will be Koushiro."

"Yeah, I got Yamato to stop a while back, and I'm glad I did. I used to hate it when he'd smoke in the car. It'd filthy up the windshield, you know?" Taichi laughed good-naturedly.

"Oh yes, wasn't that back when you two used to date?" Ken asked. A dark smirk crossed his features when Taichi abruptly dropped his smile and looked shocked, then embarrassed. He gave Ken a sly look.

"I should have known someone like you would figure that out. Mr. Detective," Taichi said quietly in a slight mocking tone. "But yeah, that was back when we dated. We were young and stupid then."

"So you were," Ken said. He didn't try to hide the venom in his voice.

_Damn, I hate you_. Taichi forced a smile to his face. He knew Ken never let go of that darkness, and he was glad Yamato had given him a heads up on something. "Yeah, yeah. Stop teasing. You know, Yamato and I used to place bets on when you and Daisuke would finally get together. I guess we were all shocked when he disappeared. I believe I lost a lot of money then."

_Ah ha. Hit your soft spot didn't I, you twit_? Taichi covered his triumphant smile with a plain look that he often used. It was also the reason people considered him dumb. If they only knew.

Ken frowned and shied as soon as Taichi's words reached his ears. That was still a painful subject for him. _Daisuke_… _Why'd I have to screw _that_ up_? "Um… yes. I suppose we were all very shocked."

_I hope this has been long enough_… Taichi took a quick look at his watch. _Oh yeah! Time to go!_ "Hey – listen, Ken. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I need to be getting on. My son's game starts in a little while and I wanted to be there when it does."

"Um… sure…" Ken was still thinking upon Taichi's previous words to really care. "I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah, around."

Taichi gave a slight wave, not really expecting one back, and not getting one either. He rolled his eyes as soon as he was past the one who had just wasted five minutes of his time, brushing lightly against Ken as he did. He was glad to have turned the subject on Ken as fast as he did, which happened to be something he was very good at. When Ken had looked up at him, he recognized that interrogating look, and worried that for a moment Ken was going to trip him up.

Not what happened though… fortunately.

Taichi glanced over his shoulder to see Ken still standing thoughtfully in the middle of the sidewalk, and ducked into the alleyway between two buildings. He walked deep into it, throwing glances back every now and then to make sure he wasn't being followed. Soon he came to the end and leaning against the concrete wall was his good friend.

"Did he have anything on him?" Yamato asked, stepping from the shadows.

"Oh yeah," Taichi replied, smirking. He pulled two portfolios from under his coat and handed them to Yamato. "He nearly got the better of me, but I remembered what you said about something happening between him and Daisuke."

"Mmm," Yamato murmured, looking through one of the portfolios. He held up a picture for Taichi to see and smiled. "He's been following me, the little rat. And…" Yamato went through the other portfolio. "It appears he's curious about Akihiko. Hmm… and Dante-Shi. This kid doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"Did Ganji ask him to drop the case?" Taichi asked, looking over Yamato's shoulder at the information.

"Yeah – Ichijouji quit, actually – instead of dropping it. Such a fool," Yamato sighed and closed the portfolios. "Alas, it's pathetic. He's going to get himself killed, not that it will bother me."

"Oh come on, Yama. You can't really want him dead, as annoying as he can get. He was digidestined after all," Taichi laughed.

"Yes, perhaps not, but who really cares if he was destined or not. _I_ certainly don't, and it would be easier to do my job if he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong." Yamato placed the two portfolios in his inner-coat pocket. He gave Taichi a cynical grin. "You want to come tonight? I might need your help…"

Taichi shook his head. "No. I don't think I'm up to fighting against a powerful man at the moment. I'll call you tomorrow morning, and if you don't pick up then I'll know you're dead. Have fun – oh, how about one last kiss before you die?"

Taichi took Yamato's face in his hands and kissed him. Yamato didn't object nor respond. He merely gave Taichi an amused look when he was released from the affection. "Now, now. You're married and I have a lover."

"A lover that hates you," Taichi snorted.

"Sad, but true," Yamato laughed. "See you, Tai."

Taichi gave him a wink. "Hopefully not in Hell."

*  *  *

_I'm getting married to Miyako today, Daisuke_.

Daisuke was still staring out the car window, although now the busy streets of Tokyo were replaced with the open land of the countryside. Trees whipped by as the car moved down the wet roads towards wherever its destination happened to be. The rain was still dripping after its long pour, and the gray clouds still covered the sky. And yet, even with darkness of the gray, Akihiko wore his sunglasses, as if to cover his eyes to keep Daisuke from seeing the lack of a soul there.

"Tell me Daisuke, why is it that you _only_ dance?"

Bits of conversation had been going between the two, but never anything that Daisuke was too interested in. This, however, made him shift in his seat and take a sideways glance at Akihiko staring at the road. He replied quietly and coldly, "I was taught to wait for marriage."

Akihiko let out a dry laugh. "And you are how old now? Twenty-eight? Don't tell me you're still a virgin after working in a strip joint."

Again, Daisuke thought of how he _really_ didn't want to discuss this with anyone, let alone with _Akihiko_. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. I'm not."

"How was your special moral put off then?" Akihiko asked.

_I'm getting married to Miyako today, Daisuke_.

A painful grip took hold of Daisuke's chest and he closed his eyes as a worthless attempt to shut out the ache. "I don't believe that is of anything you should know, Akihiko."

The man driving didn't appear too upset about the lack of information. "Whatever you say, Motomiya."

The car dipped into silence once more.

*  *  *

_"What about the others? Are they doing fine?" Daisuke asked, shuffling a bit uncomfortably._

_Ken spun some of the spaghetti on his plate around his fork. "They… miss you… I miss you… We all wondered so much, Daisuke… Why did you leave?"_

_The question was not something Daisuke wanted to answer. He averted his gaze from Ken's and looked at a picture hanging on the restaurant wall. "Let's not talk about that Ken. It's in the past and I'd rather forget it. What do you say we head back to my place and catch up?"_

*  *  *

"Bad habit. Very, very bad habit," Ken muttered to himself and stared at the pack of cigarettes in his hand. He hadn't even realized he'd bought them until he was out of the store and about to light up. His body was screaming for the nicotine, but his mind was telling him he was in enough trouble with Miyako already. The mixed feelings were driving him crazy.

With a frustrated sigh, Ken tossed the cigarettes into the nearest trash bin. This had become an every day occurrence for him. He bought cigarettes, and then threw them away, only to do it again the very next day. A waste of money, to be sure, but he never thought about what he was doing until after.

Ken reached into his pocket to get his portfolios out, hoping to maybe go over them again in case he happened to pick up on a clue he missed the first time around. It took a while for his tired mind to clue in that he was missing the two items. When he did figure this out, he began to search his coat frantically. He ran his hands through his hair, pausing them at the top of his head, and stared at the ground, his eyes going back and forth like they were reading something there.

_What did I do with them? I know I grabbed them before I left_… Giving an agonized groan, he slumped against the wall of the building he was nearest to, and looked towards the sky, letting his hands drop to his sides. He went over everything from the time he left to where he was now in his mind. He came to the point where Taichi was leaving and remembered…

"Damn it!" Ken turned around and slammed his fists on the wall. The grate of the brick left several scrapes on the side of his palm, but he was too angry to think about the pinch-like pain coming from there. _Taichi… I can't believe Taichi did that_… _I am such an idiot! He knew exactly what to say… But how…_?

_Yamato_.

*  *  *

A large mansion loomed out from behind the trees that lined the road. Daisuke straightened in his seat and rolled his window down to remove the glare caused by the window. The place was like something he'd seen out of a movie. It had to be at least three stories high and just was wide. Surely Dante-Shi didn't have the place all to himself. He _had_ to share it with somebody. What can one person do with all that room?

"It is very big, no?" Akihiko said, pulling through tall gates and into the circle drive in front of the place.

Daisuke opened his car door and got out, eyes on the place the entire time. Little water fountains were on the nicely trimmed lawn, rows of flowers lined the sides of the house, and bushes cut into various shapes and animals were scattered here and there. Nearby, Hroc and Habacus were getting out and appeared unfazed by the size of the mansion. Clearly they had been to visit Dante-Shi before. Akihiko was amused with Daisuke's reaction to the place and took him by the arm, leading him up to the front door. These, too, marveled Daisuke, as they were carved into a beautiful design.

Hroc appeared on Daisuke's other side as Akihiko rang the doorbell. "You approve?"

"Yeah… This place is huge… He must be loaded," Daisuke murmured, still scanning his new surroundings.

"Yes?" The voice buzzed from a speaker beside the front door. "What is your name and business?"

"Keshena Akihiko. I'm here to bring Dante-Shi some new information," Akihiko replied. He flashed Daisuke a secretive smile, but the other was still too busy adjusting to notice.

Promptly, one of the two doors opened and a young lady in a maid's outfit appeared. She bowed and allowed the four to enter, closing the door behind them and having to use all of her strength to do it. Akihiko waited patiently for her to lead them and as soon as she was ready, they were on their way to wherever Dante-Shi was hiding in the mansion.

The walls were a soft blue color, a stark contrast to Akihiko's black ones, more pictures lined the wall, and, as they moved along, Daisuke noticed that most of the people in the pictures had died of natural causes or been killed. He recognized Akihiko in a few pictures, standing with the murdered ones, a sadistic smile on his face.

Daisuke stopped walking, his eyes suddenly very big.

Standing with a man who'd died of a heart attack about six months before was Ishida Yamato. Daisuke studied the picture. Yamato was smiling in a similar way that Akihiko was and he had his arm thrown around the man like they were friends. But the man was a very prestigious lawyer known as Mori Kokan. He'd been a young man for a lawyer of his status, in his early thirties, who'd made his way to the top very quickly. His death had been unexpected, and some believed that he'd been murdered…

"Daisuke!"

Daisuke blinked and moved to look at Akihiko glaring him.

"We do not have time for you to waste. Stop dawdling," Akihiko ordered sternly.

With a nod, Daisuke followed them, wishing for nothing more than to be able to smack the smirk off of Hroc's face. Daisuke didn't bother to look at the pictures anymore. He was confused and his mind was muddled. The group came to a door and ushered inside by the maid. The air took a distinct opposite change and got very cold; so cold that Daisuke could see his breath every time he exhaled. They were heading down some stairs, and – he guessed – to the basement, which was why the temperature dropped.

Habacus opened the next door for them since the maid had stayed at the top of the stairs. As Daisuke passed him, he flashed the same secretive smile, and this time Daisuke caught it. _Does he know_? The room they were now in was dimly lit. One lone lamp was on in the corner, but it provided very little light. Daisuke had to squint in order to see Akihiko, who'd disappeared farther into the room and was whispering to some one. Their outlines were barely distinguishable against cement-like walls.

A man stepped from beside Akihiko and into the light. He grinned like a mad man at Daisuke and flicked the ashes from the tip of the cigar in his hand.  Everything came into place. He was in the open now, and in real deep. They had known the entire time and they had set everything up perfectly. Today was the day when the attack was going to be made, and he had failed his assignment to keep a very important man alive.

_And if they know who I am, then_…

"Oh shit."

*  *  *

_Ken shoved Daisuke onto the couch, and move over him with a hungry look. Daisuke looked rather amused and drew Ken closer to him to whisper, "You only just found me two days ago. A bit anxious, hm?"_

_Ken licked his lips and shook his head. "I've missed you… a lot…"_

*  *  *

Yamato stepped onto the elevator and pressed his brother's floor number. He dug around in his pocket for the apartment key Takeru had loaned him as the elevator moved. He found it, along with a gum wrapper and a bouncy-ball that he'd gotten out of a prize box. There were plenty of other things in his pockets, but he didn't need to bring them out just yet. There would be time for that later. The doors opened and Yamato stepped out, moving the key between his fingers. There was so much for him to do and only six hours left.

"Hello Yamato."

Yamato stopped walking, and let his eyes slowly rise from the key he'd been staring at to Ken leaning against Takeru's door. "Hello Ken."

Ken glared at him. "Where are my files that you had Taichi so graciously steal for you?"

"A pile of ashes in my trashcan," Yamato replied with a smile. Ken's hand flipped down to his belt, and Yamato did the same, both drawing a gun at the same time. He gave Ken another dark smile. "Now, now, no hard feelings. You were getting too nosy, Ken, and you never realized what you're missing that was placed so nicely into your hands."

"What are you talking about?" Ken growled, cocking his pistol.

There was the sound of another pistol being cocked only it wasn't from Yamato. Ken froze when he realize the noise was behind him. He felt a hand slide down his arm to his hand and he let his grip go on the pistol for the person behind him to take. His pistol was dropped and kicked to Yamato, and the hand moved down Ken's side to pull the other, smaller gun from there. Then on to where he kept his swiss-army knife.

The person behind him placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him against the door, jerking his hands behind his back to be cuffed. He was then flipped back around to face the person. "Taichi."

Taichi grinned. "Hey Ken."

--

"I thought you said you didn't want to be a part of this?" Yamato asked from inside Takeru's kitchen. Ken was currently cuffed, tied to a chair with plastic jump rope, and had a waded sock in his mouth with tape over so he couldn't spit it out.

Taichi was sitting on the couch across from him reading a magazine. He glanced at Ken over the top of it. "I didn't want to be, but I knew Ken would realize he was missing those portfolios sooner or later so I followed him. I guess I ended up becoming a part."

Yamato walked into the room with two sandwiches and gave one to Taichi. He flashed Ken a smile. "Sorry Ken, I ran out of mustard."

Ken scowled and emitted a muffled growl.

"Anyway, I figured I wasn't doing too much tonight and decided to be a part of this. It'll probably get me in loads of trouble, but you know what? Akihiko can take this and shove it up his ass for all I care," Taichi muttered, emphasizing his words with his sandwich.

"Yeah, he's been a bit tight these last few weeks. Why do you think?" Yamato took the magazine Taichi had previously been reading and opened it.

"I don't know," Taichi sighed. "He's been all secretive with his answers, but Vanyusha said something about him finding the detective that's been on Dante-Shi's tail for some while now. Of course, Russians aren't the most reliable people. I wish I'd gotten to talk to Habacus or Hroc, but they'd left with Akihiko when I got there."

Yamato looked up, surprised. "Left? To where?"

Taichi shrugged. "I don't know. They never tell me anything unless they want somebody dead."

"Huh," Yamato mumbled and glanced at his watch. "Oh, it's time."

*  *  *

_Daisuke woke up when he realized that there was a draft from Ken not being next to him. He cracked open his eyes and looked around the room for Ken. Standing nearby, and hurriedly getting dressed, was his violet-haired friend, and now the person he couldn't help but love. After all, Ken sought him out and lavished him with affection. How could Daisuke not love him?_

_"Good morning sunshine," Daisuke whispered._

_Ken froze, and turned to look at Daisuke, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. "Good morning, Daisuke."_

_He continued buttoning his shirt, rather nervously, as Daisuke sat up and stretched. Daisuke gave Ken a weird look and reached for his hand. "Come here…"_

_Ken jerked his hand away from Daisuke and jumped away like a frightened rabbit. The two of them stared at each other, one confused and the other about to burst into tears._

_"Ken? Are you okay?"_

_"…I'm getting married to Miyako today, Daisuke."_

*  *  *__

Daisuke rolled onto his side and opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his head was throbbing painfully. He tried to move his hands but found they were bound behind his back. With an exasperated sigh, he looked down at his feet to see if it was the same for there. Yep. Well, this made escaping that much harder. Why didn't they kill him? Surely they knew he was going to try to escape sometime. Or were they trying to torture him by freezing him? It certainly was cold enough.

"Ohh…" Daisuke forced himself to a sitting position and scooted to the wall, which was thankfully only a foot away. He caught his breath and let his head fall back, closing his eyes. _How could I have not seen this coming?_ "This bites."

He wasn't an expert on escape – that was Takeru's job – but figured one could only try. He could either die here, or try to escape and die, and if he _did_ escape he could spend the rest of his life running from Dante-Shi. Well, _that_ was appealing. He couldn't simply give up, however. He still had a job to do, and tied or not tied, he was going to get out of the place.

*  *  *

"We have three more hours, and I'm sure that whatever Akihiko is busy doing, he's not going to be doing it long when he finds out Takeru isn't dead," Yamato mumbled, staring at the ceiling from his spot on the couch. Ken made several muffled noises, catching his attention. He looked from the ceiling to the tied detective and sighed. "You know, Ken, if you promised to not kill me…"

"And me!" Taichi piped.

"And Taichi," Yamato rolled his eyes, "then I'd let you go so you could help us, but to be honest with you, I don't think your promise is worth much."

"Mmphm mm."

Yamato looked to Taichi. "I can't decipher that. What did he say?"

"Something along the lines of 'let me go,'" Taichi replied, not really interested in what Yamato was discussing with Ken, but the gun in his hand that he was trying to load.

"Here's the deal: help us, and we'll let you go," Yamato proposed. At Ken's dirty look, he added more strictly, "We'll both get what we want, Ken, but if you attack the two of us, you aren't going to get very far. If I know Akihiko, he's bringing plenty of reinforcement."

"To think," Taichi said, "this is all Takeru's fault. You know, you're really going to have to start watching what he writes."

*  *  *

Daisuke peered around the corner, and then back at the two men who were supposed to be watching him lying on the ground, one knocked out and the other dead. He had both of their weapons just in case he wasn't able to sneak from the place quietly. He remembered the way that he'd come in with Akihiko, but he knew just as well that it'd be suspected he'd go that way. He had to find a window or something.

There were doors everywhere, making everything just that much harder. Dante-Shi must have been confident that Daisuke wouldn't escape because there was hardly a soul around. He still slipped through the mansion quietly. He knew Dante-Shi was watching him. There were cameras everywhere. They were simply waiting for Daisuke to make a wrong move.  _Don't worry, be happy_… Daisuke thought to himself. _Look at me, I'm happy_!

_I'm not happy. I'm going to die_.

_No! No negative thoughts! Takeru would not be pleased_. Daisuke moved around yet another corner, and – for the first time since he'd broken out – came face to face with another person, a man that looked – judging by his clothes – to be a security guard and was carrying a donut in one hand. They of them stared at each other, wondering if the other was really there. But then Daisuke grabbed the gun he'd tucked in his pants, and the man reached for his gun. The two of them drew and had the guns next to the other's head at the same time. The staring contest continued.

"Look it," Daisuke said at last, "It's not like I'm going to get very far. Why don't you just let me get a head start?"

"Not happening, Mr. Motomiya. I have been given orders that you are not allowed to leave the premises," the officer replied.

"Come on! Dante-Shi is a horrible man," Daisuke pleaded. "Why are you working for someone like him? You could be doing so much better."

The officer faltered, but regained his current bravery. "I think you should come with me."

"Yeah, yeah," Daisuke mumbled, and let his gun drop to his side. The officer stuck his sandwich in his mouth and held out his hand for the gun, Daisuke reluctantly handing it over. As he did this, however, he unexpectedly grabbed both the officer's hand and pushed them apart. A shot was fired, but it went straight into the wall, and Daisuke knocked his head into the officer's. The officer fell to the ground, knocked out cold, and Daisuke stumbled back, holding his forehead painfully.

"Damn it! That hurts!" he shouted, rubbing the now very sore spot. Wincing, he leaned over and grabbed his gun. There were some keys on the officer's belt, and he gratefully took them, chirping, "Thank you!"

There was some noise down the hallway, and Daisuke spun around. Coming around the corner were three more security guards. He 'eep'-ed and took off at a dead run. Bullets whizzed past him, once even grazing his arm, along with cries for him to 'stop that very minute' and that there 'was no escape.' Personally, he really didn't care and continued to run, turning only to fire a few shots. There were people coming from in front of him now, and he dropped into the nearest door, slamming it shut and locking it.

He knew he didn't have much time and turned around, hoping that wherever he was would have an escape route. His eyes widened at the sight before him. _Talk about lucky_! He'd moved right into the garage, and there were plenty of cars for him to choose from. _Okay, something fast to get me back to Tokyo in time, but something that could take down those gates if needed. Sports car would be nice, but could it bust through? Decisions, decisions_.

It wasn't until he'd decided and gotten in one of the sports cars that he realized he didn't have a key. Groaning, he looked through the keys on the ring he'd taken, but none of them were car keys. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel – for good measure – and went to the floorboard to removing the panel to get the wires. Taking one of the keys, he basically sawed through the two wires, thinking how next time he did something like this he'd have to remember to bring a pocketknife.

The security guards on the other side of the door were contemplating how to get through now, after an unsuccessful attempt of breaking the door down. Daisuke looked up and frantically started to move the key over the wires harder. The first one broke, but Daisuke knew he had to do something before the officers realized they could fire at the lock. Daisuke moved from the car and looked around for something he could put in front of the door. There was a car nicely placed facing the large doors of the garage, which put it sideways instead of vertical like the rest of the cars.

Daisuke ran to the front of the car and began to push on it. The car wouldn't move; the parking break was on. He moved around to the side of the car and tried to open its door, but it was locked. Daisuke growled and took his gun out, firing a few rounds at the window. It shattered and he reached inside, pulling the break lock.

That accomplished he again went to push the car and – much to his delight – it moved, right as the officers start firing at the lock. When they finally hit the lock, Daisuke already had half of the back end of the car in front of the door. They tried to open the door, but it slammed against the car. However, Daisuke's triumph was short lived as they could reach through the crack and fire at him. He ducked and, figuring the door was blocked enough, went back to cutting the second wire.

Somehow, he managed to get through it and pressed the two cut wires together, pressing on the gas as he did. Hoping in, he slammed the door shut and shifted the gears, moving very quickly to the aluminum garage door. In a flash, he ripped through it and was speeding down the drive towards the gates.

The word of his escape must have traveled quickly because people were shooting at him from all sides. He had to swerve around some standing in the middle of the drive. The gates were closing in front of him, and he shifted to a faster gear. The car zipped through, barely clearing one side with an inch and scraping along the other side.

"Whoo-hoo! Who's the man?" As he was speeding down the slick, wet road towards Tokyo, the phone rang. This was kind of odd to him and he picked it up. "Um, hello?"

"Very good Daisuke, but you have little time to live," Dante-Shi laughed. "And you stole my favorite car!"

"I didn't steal it," Daisuke replied light-heartedly. "I'm only borrowing it. I hope you have a good lawyer, Kenta. You'll need one. I'm going to have you locked away for life."

With that, he hung up.

*  *  *

"He should be here any moment," Yamato whispered to Taichi and Ken – who'd been allowed to be a part of the scheme under certain terms. He grabbed a few clips, and moved towards the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Ken demanded.

"It would be stupid to stay clustered together, Ken. We need to spread out. I suggest either you or Taichi get the kitchen or one of the bedrooms," Yamato replied over his shoulder.

Before Ken could reply, there was a knock on the door. Yamato dashed into the bathroom and Taichi gave Ken a nod before hurrying to the kitchen quietly. For a brief second the apartment was completely silent, and then the sound of a door being kicked in echoed through it. Lights – being strapped to the tops of guns – shined into the living room where Ken was hiding behind the over turned couch. He didn't want to risk cocking his gun just yet, and waited.

_How did I get myself into this mess_?

Gunshots roared in the air, startling Ken. He went topside and took a few shots himself before ducking behind the couch again. One would think the soft cushions wouldn't protect a person against bullets, but Takeru was no fool and had metal plates on the bottom of the couch for that very reason. Ken could see the dents in the metal from the bullets hitting it and suddenly felt very afraid. This was worse than any situation he'd ever been in before.

But the three already in the apartment had an advantage. The only entrance was the front door – unless Akihiko and his men were smart enough to go through the balcony – and as the foe came through it, three different guns were fired. This was not what Ken had expected when he came to Takeru's apartment to get Yamato. He'd never wanted to kill anyone, but here he was. _I should have listened to Ganji_.

Taichi didn't see the person entering the kitchen from behind him, having gone through the balcony and one of the bedrooms to get to him. He was busy firing on the ones still coming through the door when a gun was pressed against his head. Wisely, he stuck both hands in the air and let his gun drop. He was promptly turned around to face his captor.

"Yagami. I wouldn't have thought," Akihiko snarled. "Ishida was always one to cause mutiny, but you usually obeyed."

Akihiko smacked Taichi across the face, using the butt end of his gun. Taichi yelped and fell to the floor. Flipping his gun back around, Akihiko cocked it and aimed it at Taichi's wincing form on the floor of the kitchen. He sneered, eyes aflame with the hunger for death.

Yamato heard Taichi's cry and gave a silent prayer that he'd be all right. The men had stopped coming through the front door, and beyond Ken in the kitchen, Yamato couldn't see Taichi. He scowled and tried to catch Ken's attention. Apparently the balcony was the new entrance and if Ken didn't know that he'd be trapped between the couch and Akihiko. At the moment, Yamato really needed help. He wouldn't be able to last long by himself.

"Ken!" He hissed. Ken's head slowly appeared from behind the couch. "Get up here! They're coming through that way. Hurry!"

_Miyako is going to be so pissed off_! Ken thought as he leaped over the couch and made a run for Yamato in the bathroom. He only had a few feet to go when he heard the shot and felt the pain in his arm. Crying out, he dropped to the ground out of instinct, gun flying from his hand. He rolled onto his back and reached for it, getting his hand stepped on in the process. Again he cried out in pain, and withdrew very quickly. Standing over him was Akihiko.

"Well, well. I finally get to meet Ichijouji Ken. Get up!" Akihiko growled. Ken did as he was told, wincing as he was grabbed by the arm that had been shot and jerked up faster. Akihiko held him around the throat and held the gun next to his head. "Ishida! I know you're in there! If you don't come out in ten seconds, your second friend here dies, too!"

"Kill him! I don't care!" came the reply.

"He really doesn't," Ken rasped. He tugged at Akihiko's arm, trying to get air.

"Shut up," Akihiko snarled. He struggled against Ken for a moment, and a new idea popped into his head. An evil smile went across his face. "What about Motomiya?"

There wasn't an answer. Yamato slowly came form around the corner, his gun aimed at Akihiko and Ken. "What about Daisuke?"

"I guess you never knew that your little treat was working against you, did you?" Akihiko asked. He laughed at Yamato's puzzled expression. "I knew from the first time I saw him that I'd seen him before, and what do you know? Turns out he was the one that I'd been after for years. At first I thought you were conspiring with him when I saw you two together, but I soon found that you had no idea who he was. An old friend, ha!"

Both Yamato and Ken were stunned. Ken was the first to ask, "Where's Daisuke?"

"And you!" Akihiko said to Ken. "You worked for Ganji and yet you never had the clue that he worked with Yamato! How do you think Ishida got away with all those murders so easily? And Yagami? Do you think the two of them just magically did everything alone?"

"Where's Daisuke, Keshena?" Yamato demanded, Ken still in alarm. "What did you do to him?"

Akihiko laughed viciously. "I imagine he is being tortured very slowly by Dante-Shi's men right about now. Vanyusha!"

Yamato hadn't even noticed the Russian behind him until Akihiko spoke up. He soon found himself flying onto the ground in front of Akihiko from one of the brute's blows. He still had his gun, though, and went to shoot his attacker, but Vanyusha was too quick for him. The Russian wrenched him to his feet, locking his arms behind him.

"My, my, it looks like you are in quite the predicament," Akihiko mocked. He waved his hand dismissively to Vanyusha. "Take him downstairs while I take care of Ichijouji. I can hear the sirens already. We don't want to be caught up here."

Right as Vanyusha turned to drag Yamato out of the apartment, he was greeted with the end of a pistol. Gasping, he backed up, only to be shot.

"You!" Akihiko cried. "But how did you…?"

"I had a fast car," Daisuke smirked. "Your friend Kenta isn't very good at holding prisoners. Now, it would be wise if you let go of Ken and drop your gun before I resort to extreme measures."

"Like hell I will!" Akihiko threw Ken away from him and aimed his gun at Daisuke, firing a round. Daisuke stumbled back, hand holding his side, into the wall. Yamato grabbed his gun from the floor and fired upon Akihiko several times. Akihiko grinned at him and fell to the ground, a puddle of blood already forming around him.

Ken was by Daisuke's side as he fell to his knees, and then the floor. Yamato was soon beside him also, and rolled him onto his back. Yamato lifted Daisuke's hand from his side, wincing at the amount of blood there. He pressed both his hand and Daisuke's back on the wound and looked to Ken. "Go check out Taichi and anyone else who's still alive. Akihiko was right, I can hear the sirens, so they should be getting here soon."

Ken nodded and, with a hesitant look at Daisuke's weakening form, ran to the kitchen.

"Daisuke," Yamato whispered, lifting Daisuke's head into his lap. Daisuke looked at him, eyes dulling over. Yamato was frantic now. "Daisuke! You have to stay awake. Come on! Don't die on me. You can't die on me!"

Daisuke closed his eyes and reopened them slowly, croaking, "This… isn't my… job… I'm only… supposed… to get… the infor… mation…"

"Shh… You'll be okay, just stay awake. I'm sure the doctors can fix you up," Yamato replied quietly.

"Hello? Hello?"

"In here!" Yamato and Ken called at the same time. A police officer appeared in the apartment, looking around incredulously. Yamato motioned the officer over. "He's been shot."

"Lots of people seem to have been shot in here," the officer replied.

Yamato gave him a dirty look. "He's still alive! Get a damn paramedic up here!"

The officer rushed out, just as more were rushing in. They went from person to person, looking for anyone else alive. In the kitchen, Ken confirmed that Taichi was still alive, but barely. That relieved Yamato somewhat, since his friend hadn't wanted to be a part of it all in the first place.

The paramedics came in, moving Yamato aside so they could do their job. He watched as they moved Daisuke onto the stretcher, placing an air mask over his face, and rushing him out. Yamato followed them down and even to helicopter they were putting him in. He tried to get inside – feeling that it was his fault Daisuke was hurt – but they pushed him out.

"I need to go with him!" Yamato shouted over the roar of the aircraft.

"No can do!" the paramedic replied. "You'll have to wait here!"

Yamato looked through the glass at Daisuke. "Daisuke! Don't die on me! Please don't die!"

Ken appeared by his side and pulled him away so they could take off. "Yamato! Let them get him out of here!"

"But Daisuke…" Yamato whispered.

_I'm so sorry Daisuke… I'm so very sorry_…


	4. Epilogue

Spring was a good season. The sun was high in the sky with birds singing in the newly green trees and flowers of all kinds blooming. Yet, it wasn't summer so a light breeze still coursed the countryside.

Yamato was standing in the middle of all this, freshly cut green grass under his feet. He stared sadly at the new grave, the soil still golden brown from being overturned, and a headstone placed neatly at the top of it. The few others that had come to the funeral had left already, but he couldn't leave just yet. In the time that he'd spent with the recently deceased one, he'd grown to really care. Yamato swallowed back a lump in his throat. He couldn't cry.

"You know, it hurts worse this time."

Yamato turned slightly to see the newcomer, smiling faintly. "Yeah. I actually knew him well the second time around."

Taichi stepped up to look at the grave. His arm was in a sling, and under his funeral clothes he had several bandages and stitches. "At least he died knowing he stopped somebody. How is that _you_ managed to get off free, again? Ken took care of my charges, but I didn't think he liked you enough…"

"Ganji took care of it all, my friend," Yamato answered. They stood quietly, listening to the birds chirp behind them. Yamato sighed and looked at Taichi. "You ready to go?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be."

Across the graveyard, Takeru watched Yamato and Taichi walk away from the grave through his slightly open window. He smiled a bit, and sighed.

"What are you going to do with those two?"

Takeru laughed. He put his sunglasses back on and rolled the window back up, turning to the person sitting next to him. "I'm not sure. Yamato is going back to college to get a degree in medicine, and Taichi is starting a job at the school. Probably a coach. I'll have to keep an eye on them for a while though. Both of them said it'd be hard to give up their previous jobs."

"And what about you?"

"Me?" Takeru thought briefly. "I'm going to continue with my life like nothing happened. You know, Taichi and Yamato still think I'm an author." They shared a good laugh. "What about you? What do you plan on doing?"

"I don't know. Continue with you, I guess." Daisuke peered through the window at Yamato getting into his car. He sighed. "Tell me again why I have to be _dead_."

"So you don't really end up dead. Dante-Shi Kenta isn't guaranteed prison just yet, and if by some chance he doesn't get life, you will not want to be listed in the phone book, you got that?" Takeru commanded.

"Yeah, yeah. I just wish I could tell Yamato," Daisuke mumbled. He shifted in the seat, wincing as pain shot through his side. He gave Takeru a mock-glare. "This wouldn't be a problem had you done what you were supposed to."

"I know. I'm sorry for that," Takeru apologized.

"I'm only supposed to get the information."

"I know."

"That was only the second time I even worked with a gun."

"I know."

"I could have died, and then you wouldn't have a partner anymore."

"I know."

"And what if I never escaped Dante-Shi's? Then Taichi, Ken, _and_ Yamato would be dead."

"I know."

"Plus you wouldn't-"

"Why don't you tell me about when you fell in love with Yamato."

"… When he came after me."


End file.
